Drivers in Aldershot and Farnborough can wave goodbye to half-price parking on Sundays as council bosses plan to raise an extra £400,000 from pay-and-display tickets.

The cost of parking all day in council car parks is also to jump up by 40p in the new year - a rise of 14%.

Currently those who want to park in Rushmoor’s town centre car parks for up to eight hours pay £2.80 for the privilege.

Council chiefs said the fee was one of the lowest in the area, comparing to £6.60 in Camberley, at least £5.60 in Guildford, and at least £4 in Farnham.

However, making drivers pay full whack on a Sunday sets Aldershot and Farnborough apart from its neighbours. Farnham, Fleet, Bracknell and Basingstoke have no charges for parking on a Sunday, while Guildford and Camberley charge just £1 per visit.

On Sundays and Bank Holidays, drivers currently get a 50% discount on all tickets, with a minimum charge of 40p. From January, it will cost the same as on weekdays as parking bosses plan to introduce a uniform, all-week-round system.

Most car parking fees in Aldershot and Farnborough have stayed the same since 2003. Now parking bosses want to raise the all-day charge to £3.20 in 2009 and up to £3.60 in 2010, which would represent a 29% increase in two years.

"Difficult time"

While the basic hourly rate will stay the same in 2009 at 50p an hour for main car parks, council officers have, for the first time, proposed increases for 2010, a year in advance of when the decision is due to be made.

It is planned to up the hourly fee to 60p for the council’s prime car parks in 2010.

If the increases are brought in as planned, they will net the council an extra £29,000 for the rest of this financial year, an extra £207,500 in 2009/10 and £427,500 in 2010/11.

Official figures show that the council already makes more than £1 million profit from car parking charges every year, from a turnover of £3 million.

Council bosses said the proposed increases were a responsible approach given the pressure on businesses and shops in Aldershot and Farnborough with the approaching economic recession.

John Edwards, Rushmoor’s director of community and environment, said that next year’s changes would not have a great impact on most drivers.

"We have struck a balance between recognising that our car parking charges are very low and recognising that it is a difficult time for our economy generally.

"We felt it was not the right time for a huge increase."

Mr Edwards said that the focus on all-day parking would have the least impact on hitting trade at shops in Aldershot and Farnborough.

The strategy of making extra cash from increasing fees for drivers is an official council revenue-raising tactic, as identified in Rushmoor’s recently produced "savings and efficiencies" review.

"Concerned"

The policy has been criticised by Farnborough town centre councillor David Clifford, who has argued that car parking charges are a stealth tax on residents that has a detrimental impact on small shops and traders in town centres.

"It should be a break even service and not for profit," Cllr Clifford said.

"Car parking charges are used to subsidise poor government support for local government services, and I am against building up a revenue-raising mini empire around any service."

Reviewing the proposals last week, members of Rushmoor’s environment panel said they were pleased to see basic charges would not go up next year, but had some concerns about the increases in 2010.

Alan Chainey, who represents Cove and Southwood, said it could be counter-productive to put up fees in 2010, just as the new town centre redevelopment in Farnborough opened to the public.

"I am a bit concerned that at the time when we want to encourage people into the new town centres, we will be putting the parking charges up," Cllr Chainey said.

Adam Jackman, Tory representative for Knellwood ward in Farnborough, said that while the car parking charges were lower than in areas such as Guildford, daytime parking rates applied until 8pm, instead of 6pm as in other areas.

Lib Dem Charlie Fraser-Fleming added that he would prefer a flat rate for parking on a Sunday.

Sue Dibble, Labour ward member for North Town, said she was pleased to see charges weren’t going up next year and said a decision on 2010 should not be made for another 12 months.

Cllr Dibble added that comparing Rushmoor’s relatively low charges with Guildford and Bracknell was an unfair comparison, as the shopping centres there were vastly superior to those in Aldershot and Farnborough.